Dragon Knights Fan Fiction ❯ Inside Tetheus's Head ❯ Dragoon Ink. Wants You! ( Chapter 11 )

A reader called Aquajogger left a review on another site, but I made a comment that's still pretty relevant. She suggested that Tetheus get it on with Kitchel. Kitchel? Hmm, you see, I wanted Tetheus to have a line that he would not cross. You need your pervert to have a shred of nobility, in order to make him a slightly sympathetic character. Being perverted, the innocent are a wonder to him. But, having that one bit of nobility, he keeps away from them. Of course, Tetheus would rationalise that the young are inexperienced and therefore boring. I guess that's why he's no interest in Alfeegi. I always assumed that Kitchel was the same age as Thatz, so she should be off limits. On the other hand, Kitchel, hmm, I do have an idea now. All I need is a summary. A sneak thief threatens to take Tetheus's jewels, heart and reputation. You can expect it to be written for the chapter after this one. I haven't finished writing about Cesia, yet. Although, I may push it back further, as I've got a really cool story in my head now. It's a flashback

I'm horrible at angst. Reading the early chapter of my angst story last night made me shudder. I was so proud of it before, but there you go. Some form of humour seems to be my thing, but I'll branch out into different styles now and again. Even though I didn't get my other story to come out the way I wanted, you can tell by how this story changes, the effect it did have on it. I learned to edit and that's made the biggest difference. I'm still to lazy to do it properly here, though.

There are many more stories for this. I know there are. I just don't know what they all are yet. However, thanks to Aquajogger I have another one fully plotted, so that makes three more that I will definitely write. I'm in a quandary though. I don't know where to put the potion story. I was originally going to write it as the last one ever.

Warning! Perversion contained inside.

italics are his thoughts.

No, No, No. This is much harder than I thought it would be. He looks down at the pages covering his desk and rifles through the sheets. I really thought I had something earlier. I thought I was on a roll. Hmmm. Maybe it is a bit cliché, but perhaps I could put a new spin on it. He pushes the pages aside and opens his writing desk. Stuck to the underside is a dog-eared notice.

He presses his thumbs to his temples and concentrates on the words. Bodice Ripper. Dragoon Ink. No purchase necessary. Finally he sighs. If only I had the guts to request the further information. But if that stuff came to the castle, what would people say? My reputation would go straight down the drain. He looks at one of the inspirational notes accompanying the notice. Write what you know. I wonder if anyone would be interested in tales from my life? Nah, all the stories are about milkmaids forced to sleep with the lord of the manor and women forced to marry against their will, by a cruel world. Who'd be interested in life at the very boring castle at the centre of Draqueen?

People are always curious about what goes on at the castle, but I can't tell them what really happens. It's so dull. No evil pirate lords, no dark, sexy strangers with a secret heart of gold and no-one being forced to sleep with anyone. He sighs. They all just jump into bed with each other. Nothing like a proper romance novel. I also can't write as myself, I'd stand out too easily. Maybe if I pretended to be one of the girls? Or wrote anonymously? He laughs. I'd have to really spice things up. He pulls out a small notepad. Of course, all the names would have to be changed, but maybe I could come up with something to clinch this competition.

He flicks open his notepad and writes Shady Deeds in Dragon Castle: Working Title, then chews his pen for a bit. He writes Cast: underneath, then Plot: beside it. He then draws a line down between the two. Nothing else comes to him, so he closes the notepad and tucks it into his inside pocket. Before he shuts the writing desk, he pulls out a dog-eared book and reads the dedication inside.

To Tetheus, Happy Birthday. Maybe we could try out page 164.
Cernozoa.

Ah, pages 164 through 170. How fondly I remember thee. He returns the book and closes his desk with a sigh. Back to work. If only I could take some time off now and again. It may be time for a "business trip" soon. There's a new brothel in Luwa, that I've heard good things about.

He sits for a moment, holding his head and staring at the empty desk. Maybe I should add in a tall, dark stranger, with the hint of danger around him, to balance out the weedy blonde? Sighing again, he stands up, crosses the room and leaves through the door. Lykouleon wants to introduce the new fortune-teller today. I'd better get Ruwalk, before heading in. I'm curious as to how that meeting's gonna go.

Tetheus finds Ruwalk awkwardly standing outside the Dragonlord's suites, desperately arranging some flowers. Must be looking for any excuse to put off meeting this Cesia. He stares at the harassed Dragon Officer, lingering on his shapely thighs and tight, velvet shirt. What does this remind me of? When he tires of the view, Tetheus sneakily approaches Ruwalk from his blind side.

"Ruwalk, have you seen a gimp mask around anywhere?" he asks the nervous dragon.
Ruwalk jumps and spins, breathing again when he sees Tetheus. He then launches into full voice. "Why on DUSIS would you think that I would have one of THOSE?!"
Tetheus waits calmly for the sentence to finish.
"Mine's gone missing," he says evenly. "I hope that Rath hasn't borrowed it again."
"Oh!" Ruwalk doesn't know quite where to look. His eyes flick over Tetheus's face, the wall, the flower arrangement, then settle on his fingers. 'N-no," he says, flexing them and scratching at the skin. "I haven't seen, um, that, anywhere. If I do see, see, an, um, gimp mask anywhere, I'll, I'll s-send it to you. Um."
Tetheus nods and steps past, but Ruwalk suddenly reaches out and grabs his arm. The Black Dragon Officer turns and raises an eyebrow.
"I'll help you look for it," he says, with an empty face.
Wow, you really don't want to meet this girl. Ah, I've got it! Main cast decided. The innocent, guileless, mopey, airhead fortune-teller, who knows everything but the truth hidden in her own heart and the dark-haired, sexy officer, who's fated to betray and destroy her. Can two hearts find each other, when destiny itself conspires against them? Perfect! This practically writes itself. It's star-crossed loves, her with a pure and noble heart, him with a dark and foreboding past. I hope he doesn't get this one killed before I finish. Although, that might improve ratings.

"Tetheus?" he says, drawing back a little. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, fine," Tetheus answers, placing his hand over Ruwalk's and squeezing slightly. "I just think I know where to find it now. Don't worry." He pats Ruwalk's hand lightly. "Shall we go in? I know the Dragonlord's dying to introduce us to his new employee."

Downcast, Ruwalk mutters something and stalks down the corridor beside Tetheus. Hands in his pockets, he scuffs the ground as he walks, his shoes making a squeaky noise. Tetheus reaches into his pocket and pulls out the notebook. He writes Cesia and Ruwalk under the cast list. Staring at the floor, Ruwalk doesn't notice. He adds R killed C's predecessor, is C safe? Her mind says no, but her heart doesn't care. What is the truth behind his past? to the plot section. Shortly, they reach the room where Lykouleon is waiting with Cesia. With a heavy sigh, Ruwalk pushes open the door and they stride in. Alfeegi and Lykouleon are the only two present, though the cosy room could easily hold a hundred.

"Ah, you didn't hear either?" Lykouleon calls down to them, as they cross the grey carpet. Alfeegi and he are munching on snacks from the cloth covered table nearby. It's heavily laden with food and wine. As they approach, he motions to them to help themselves. Lykouleon, you're now a character in my story. Tetheus takes a plate and fills it with a small salad, then goes looking for the chicken wings. He sees none, then spies the remains of one in the Dragonlord's hand and a pile of small bones on his plate. A minor one. Tetheus then notices that a nasty peanut sauce covers the skewered chicken. He takes some cold ham instead and a cooked yam, which he leaves on top, to heat up the meat. Ruwalk completely ignores the food. Lykouleon cheerfully eats on. Alfeegi's cheeks are flushed and his glass is full. Three empty red wine bottles stand beside the five full bottles of white wine. And you're impotent.

"Well, Cesia isn't here yet," says Lykouleon.
"Unforeseen circumstances?" Tetheus asks, as he arches an eyebrow.
"Maybe she heard about Ruwalk," jokes Alfeegi, giggling to himself and slightly bent over with the hilarity of the situation. "After all, he killed the old one..."
"Hey!" says Ruwalk, forcefully.
"It was your fault," points out Lykouleon, absently petting Alfeegi and wavering slightly.
"But it was an accident," he grumbles. "I was cleared at the enquiry."
"Yeah, right," answered Alfeegi. "As if you ..." A coughing fit interrupts him and he bends over to get it out of his system. The Dragonlord holds onto him and strokes his back, as the coughs rack his slender frame. He steadies Alfeegi as they both sway back and forth. Lykouleon continues, as he gets a mouthful of wine down Alfeegi's throat.
"Drink something. Now, where was I? Yes, yes. I got a letter. She says that she foresaw dire consequences if she didn't visit Costa Rica for a few weeks, at my expense, before starting work here. Apparently, she foresees a tremendous disturbance." He smiles broadly and holds up a glass, his proud pose marred only by his bobbing head. "See? I got a good one!"
Oh lord. "Isn't there a heat-wave in Costa Rica, right now?" states Tetheus, his face carefully absent of emotion.
"I do believe you're right," calls up Alfeegi, from the floor.
"I asked for a present," says the smiling Dragonlord.
Ruwalk smacks his forehead. "So why are we here?"
"Well," says Lykouleon, wobbling a bit. "I cancelled the party, but the food was already set up. Seems a shame to waste it. Dig in!"

Various high-ranking dragons drift in, as their shifts end. When the food is demolished, the party has grown so large that Lykouleon orders another tableful from the kitchen and an extra three cases of wine, from the cellar. They don't replenish the chicken wings. Ruwalk makes his excuses and leaves fairly early on, but Tetheus prowls the party, before deciding whether to stay or not. While talking to an old conquest with a daring, low-cut top, he overhears a conversation between a bunch of giggling girls.

"I don't think that I could finish mine in time," one laughs. "I'm such a slow writer."
"That's a pity," says another, smugly. "I'm nearly finished mine."
""Well," says a blonde, daintily brushing some crumbs from her tight, green, velvet dress. "I've not completed my first draft yet, but I've quite a saucy plot lined up."
"Ooh," coos a petite brunette, in a dress two sizes too small for her overflowing bosom. "What's it about? Mine's got pirates in it and the main character is a princess who's really sweet and she gets kidnapped by them and they rape her, but she falls in love with the pirate captain and he leaves her, then realises that he loves her, but when he returns to her, he finds that she's killed herself." She fills her mouth with a small cake, while waiting for the praise of her cohorts.
"Well, mine's about a tall, dark and handsome swordsman, who meets a short, plump but bubbly blonde. He asks her out to the park and the dance hall and they get locked out one night and have to cuddle up under the stars, where they fall in love," says a short, plump, but bubbly blonde, in a plum skirt and blouse. "Then they get married and live happily ever after."
"Mine's about a milkmaid," stutters the wallflower.
"Harem dancer," says the next in the circle.
"Serving girl."
"War-ravaged city."
"Courtesan."
"Long lost sister of the king."
"Demons," says the dainty blonde, with a dark glower. Everyone falls silent at her audacity.
Rats, I'm going to have to ramp mine up a notch. Okay, the infamous Dating Party is going in. I'd better add some lesbians too. One of them can toy with Cesia. And I need a situation where Ruwalk is forced to her side, to save her. After all, where's the tension if the two of them stay apart from each other? Hmm, a prowling murderer? Rapist? Ruwalk a possible suspect at the start? This does write itself.

No further interesting titbits emerge and Tetheus excuses himself from his well-endowed companion. He returns to his room and feverishly writes through the long night. When dawn breaks, he signs off on the final page. Smiling at the emerging sunlight, he deposits his competition entry into a carefully prepared envelope and seals it tightly. Did I remember to add contact details? He breaks it open again and adds a few lines, the address of a post office box, in the town. The novel is resealed and he steals away, while the castle sleeps, to post it to Dragoon Ink.

A week after midsummer, he's woken up by the awesome sight of an angry Lykouleon. The Dragonlord throws a newly published book at him, the pages still warm from the presses. The title glares out at him, in bold print: Scandal at Dragon Castle, by Keigh Hay. I won? He looks at Lykouleon's smouldering face. Oh no.

So what happened to Cesia? Well, you read the first few lines, right? I typed that and the whole idea came into my head. Then I was going to leave Cesia out. Then I wasn't cos I'd mentioned her in the last chapter. Then I was going to run both ideas together. Then I realised that that wouldn't work. Each chapter has its own little plot and it would be a waste of a great idea. This idea deserves its own chapter. So, no Cesia. Yet. Still, how's she going to react, eh? Also, I can't imagine Tetheus writing the book, if he'd actually met her.

Also, Cé hé? (Kay Hay) means Who is that? or Who is he? It's not japanese, so don't add it to your own fics, but it's better than typing Who Wrote this? by Anne Onomous. I haven't heard any of those jokes in years. My favourite is Cliff-fall Tragedy, by Eileen Dover.

Gah, one of the reasons that I was thinking of finishing up is the tense thing. I've switched to past tense for my new fics and it's starting to bugger me up. When writing this fic I sometimes put things in the past tense and vice versa with the new ones. If I finished this up and wrote everything in the past tense, I wouldn't have to worry. It's annoying, cos I never had this problem before. Especially since I switch the story I'm writing for, a lot. When I've problems with this, I used to write some of A Suitable Bride and vice versa. They are both in present tense, so no problem. However, that'll be finished soon. Hopefully, I'll get a first draft before next week, but I'd double it at the least. So many things looking for my time.

Ah, what was it, book 14 before they mentioned that Dragoon is the Kingdom of the Dragonlord and Draqueen its capital? I was so confused by that. I saw Dragoon mentioned in other fics, but figured that there were translation issues and that Dragoon and Draqueen were equivalent. I wondered what the place was called. At least I know now. Oh yeah, please review if you have any comments to make about the story. I don't know how to get better unless I get feedback. Don't be afraid to be negative, I need to know what areas to improve on.